LIUPCP team attends the 10th World Urban Forum 2020

Call for united action to ensure a better future for cities and towns

Abu Dhabi, 13 February 2020: The 10th World Urban Forum (WUF) 2020 has concluded with a call for united action to ensure a better future for cities and towns.

Held at the capital of UAE, Abu Dhabi from 8 to 13 February 2020, the WUF 2020 attracted over 13,000 participants attending in more than 540 official events including a team of representatives from Livelihoods Improvement of Urban Poor Communities Project (LIUPCP) led by its National project Director Abdul Mannan.

The UN-Habitat Executive Director, Ms Maimunah Mohd Sharif, told the Closing Ceremony that during six-day meeting, delegates from all walks of life had insisted on the importance of a common goal of leaving a legacy of a better world for future generations.

This was the first time that an Arab country hosted the world’s most important conference on cities and human settlements. The theme of this year’s Forum is Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation.

The UN-Habitat Assembly President and Undersecretary of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico, Ms. Martha Delgado, who co-chaired the Advisory Group which put together the final WUF10 Declaration, called the Abu Dhabi Declared Actions, said they had listened to participants thoughts, wishes and aspirations.

The Abu Dhabi Declared Actions includes commitments from international organizations, national, local and regional governments, the private sector, civil society, academia and others for the next two years and beyond to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by world leaders in 2015.

The UN-Habitat Executive Director said that all of the Sustainable Development Goals came together in ‘urban’ goal SDG 11 aimed at achieving inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. “Through the Abu Dhabi Declared Actions, we now have the what, how and when components as well,” said Ms Sharif.

Cities face a growing range of shocks and stresses, including climate change, growing migrant populations, inadequate infrastructure, pandemics and cyber-attacks. 82% of cities globally are located in areas that face a high risk of mortality from a natural disaster.

Nearly 90% of cities globally are highly vulnerable to economic losses associated with potential natural disaster. Building resilience in cities and communities of all sizes is therefore more critical than ever before.
The opening welcome message was delivered on behalf of the UAE Government by his Excellency Falah Mohammed Al Ahbabi, Chairman of the Municipality and Transportation, Abu Dhabi.

Urbanization , climate threats, housing, urban finance, cross-country experience, future challenges of urbanization were discussed by stakeholders as they called for collective efforts to challenge the danger of urbanization. Joint role of the government and the private sectors and use of technology and innovation to tackle the challenges have been emphasized under brain storming discussions and side events, dialogue, displays, mutual experience sharing. They also underscored the need for methodologies of future inclusive actions.

The participants agreed that culture is an integral part of the solution to the challenges of urbanization and achieving the new urban agenda.

The 11th WUF will be hosted by Poland in the year 2022 where new innovative ideas are expected to emerge to tackle future urban challenges.

The World Urban Forum (WUF) was established in 2001 by the United Nations to address one of the most pressing issues facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. Convened by UN-Habitat, the Forum is a high level, open and inclusive platform for addressing the challenges of sustainable urbanization.

The WUF has the following objectives: raising awareness of sustainable urbanization among stakeholders and constituencies, including the general public; improving collective knowledge on sustainable urban development through open and inclusive debate, exchange of best practices and policies, and sharing of lessons learnt; promoting collaboration and cooperation between different stakeholders and constituencies engaged in the advancement and implementation of sustainable urbanization.